Music Video Analysis

Lucy Anthony & Mia Banks

Avicii- The Nights

This music video is a narrative and is following the experiences of a mans life.

Camera ShotsThere are a variety of different camera angles used in this music video to portray the goal of living a fun and enjoyable lifestyle. This is to provide many different angles and views of how this boy, Rory lived a life to remember. Angles such as a wide shot is used to show the environment that he is in and showing him jumping in mid air. This shows how high the cliff, he is jumping off and the proportion of it compared to him. This is representing Rory taking a risk in his life and giving everything a go. He is being a daring and willing person and living life to the fullest. It is telling the audience to live a life full of no regrets and enjoy yourself while your still young. From watching this the viewers are in shock and awe and persuades them to do something special and amazing with their lives and not take everyday for granted. Another important angle used in the music video is a high angle POV shot. This is shown from Rory’s point of view looking down at the water far below him. The purpose of this shot is to show the heights that he has reached and how far he has gone with his life. It tells us as viewers the incredible views he has seen in his life and how he is at the top but yet about to conquer something else amazing. Because Avicii’s target audience is teens and young adults the purpose of this video is to show them to not live an ordinary life and make the most of the one you have while we are young because “when you get older, you live for younger days.”

CostumingThe costuming used in this music video is worn by Rory as the focus is on his life. The clothing that he wears is everyday casual wear. For example in one clip it is showing Rory wearing a singlet, shorts and sunnies. This is because he is biking around on the road and the clothing is appropriate for the sport. The clothing he wears is usually plain and black and white. This is to take the focus away from him but so the focus is set on where he is and what he is doing. Another costume that Rory wears and is important is when he is on top of the car. In this scene he is wearing all black clothing: hat, t-shirt, jeans and shoes. The intention of Rory wearing all black in this scene is to show that he is being risky and a dare devil by standing on top of a vehicle. The colour black represents mystery, fear, power and elegance. Rory is fulfilling all of these emotions while on top of the car. Black is also very commonly associated with death and in this scene he is essentially flirting with death by standing on top of the moving car. Many of the clips from this music video are filmed in summer where Rory is seen just wearing his colourful togs. This is used to show the happiness of summer and because he is spending so much time in his swimwear he is is free willing and has no worries in life. The purpose of casual wear is to show that he is just an everyday person living life how he wants to. Rory is not born into a famous or special family he is making the most of his life which persuades everyday people to be inspired by his life and make the most of theirs.

EditingThe clips of this music video are all short and fast and are in time with the music. During the slower parts of the song there are longer clips and are in slow motion and when the beat increases and gets faster the clips change quickly. Because it is cut to the beat it keeps the audience captivated in what is going to happen next and creates an interesting and fun music video to watch. When the video first starts the music is fast and up beat and the clips have been sped up and change very quickly. Throughout the video there is variety of different speeds and lengths of how long each clips is shown. This is to provide variety and keep the audiences attention so the video is unpredictable to watch.

Sia- Chandelier

This video is a performance and shows us the story of a child’s life at home.

The editing in this video makes it effective and appealing to the eye. The editing is effective as it is cut to the beat. If the song speeds up so does the performance. By doing this, the viewers can be grasped in when it suddenly cuts to a different scene or a different style of dance. This then also helps the audience to connect with the video. It has been edited in quite a realistic way compared to the dance. This is a contrasting effect as the dance is so unnatural the style and pace of the editing is made to look normal. The editing in this video has really made it come together and look effective.

Editing

CostumingThe costuming and make up in this video has been kept simple. The main actress is wearing a skin coloured leotard so she appears nude. This costuming is to tie in with the effect of being mistreated. She is naked because she hasn’t been looked after. She has become wild and insane and angry because she hates how her life is. Her face is plain and she wears a blonde, straight cut bobbed wig. This contrasts with the effect of being unkempt and uncared for. Her hair is perfectly straight and cut. The costuming has been kept simple and plain which has allowed the viewers to create more ideas of their own. Rather than filling the scene with props and costuming her to the max, they have kept it plain and simple. This has also allowed more of a story to be created behind the video. Even though the costume is plain it plays a big part in the video. This video is a classic example of less is more.

Symbolic TechniqueSymbolic techniques are what bring this video together. The most symbolic technique would be the pulling of her eye on her face. This is effective as it is something that is repeated which visually allows the audience to link back to certain parts in the video. The colour in his video is all very pale and bland. All of the furniture is run down and looks old. It is unclean and uncared for. This symbolizes her life so the set and colours allow the viewers to link the colours and set with the child and the way that her character is portrayed. This video is portrayed through performance. In this case the performance is a dance. The style of dance is contemporary which evokes emotion. The dance moves are very elongated but then very fast and sharp. All of these symbolic techniques makes the video deeper than it first appears to be.

Katy Perry- Firework

This Music video is a narrative showing different people and their insecurities and gaining confidence by expressing themselves.

Camera AnglesThere are many different camera angles used in this music video. There is a wide range of angles used to provide variety and to create the feel of the video. For example a close up angle is used showing a girls face. In this scene the girl is feeling down and empty with little self confidence. The close up angle is used to show the sad emotions on the girls face. From the close up we can see that the girl is so uncertain and not proud of who she is from the facial expressions shown. This helps us as an audience understand how this girl is feeling and how she desperately wants to be happy with herself. Another camera angle used in this music video is a high angle shot. This angle shows Katy Perry standing on the edge of the balcony and having fireworks from inside of her exploding. A high angle is used as it also includes the city down below her and represents Katy expressing herself and being proud of who she is infront of the whole town. These angles are used to inspire the audience to be happy with who they are and that everyone is unique.

LightingThe lighting used throughout this scene is all dark and harsh. This is to represent the sadness that all of th different people are feeling inside. The darkness contrasts with the bright colours of the fireworks as they are all bright and colourful. The purpose of this is to make a statement about the firework inside of their dull and dark lived lives coming out. The lighting is uneasy on the eyes to help the audience get the understanding of how these people in their everyday lives. At the end of the video all od the lighting is bright and colourful as everyone is now expressing themselves and happy with who they are. There are many different colours used to show the differences of each persons personalty.

The costume and make up used in this video is very effective. The costumes used are bright coloured and ‘pop’. This is used to create and set the tone of the video. The video is firework so these costumes are used to represent a firework. It is also a song about bursting out of your bubble and letting your real colours shine, therefore everything is bright and coloured. The lighting contrast to this is dark outside sometimes. This represents the darkness of their personalities and the how the costumes represent how bright, colourful and fun they really are. The make up is well done and reflects the brightness of the costumes to make them look more effective.

Costuming